Parking support apparatus

ABSTRACT

A parking support apparatus is provided with: a vehicle controller configured to park a vehicle by controlling behavior of the vehicle in accordance with the signal associated with the remote operation if a distance between a transmitter located outside of the vehicle and the vehicle is greater than or equal to a first distance and is less than or equal to a second distance. The vehicle controller performs a predetermined informing operation for an operator of the transmitter, instead of or in addition to controlling the behavior of the vehicle in accordance with the signal associated with the remote operation, if the distance is greater than or equal to the first distance and is less than or equal to a third distance or if the distance is greater than or equal to a fourth distance and is less than or equal to the second distance.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/722,041, filed Oct. 2, 2017, which is based upon and claims thebenefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No.2016-230943, filed on Nov. 29, 2016, the entire contents of each ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a parking supportapparatus configured to perform parking support for parking a vehicle ina target position, and particularly relate to a parking supportapparatus configured to operate a vehicle by remote control from aterminal located outside the vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

For this type of apparatus, for example, there is proposed an apparatusconfigured to adjust a parking position of a vehicle by using a remoteoperation apparatus operated outside the vehicle (refer to JapanesePatent Application Laid Open No. 2006-306233). This patent documentdiscloses that a wireless communication area in which the remoteoperation apparatus and the vehicle can perform wireless communicationis set within 10 meters from a body of the vehicle.

A user cannot recognize the wireless communication area, i.e. a range inwhich the vehicle can be operated by remote control. Thus, if a distancebetween the vehicle and the user is increased due to, e.g., movement ofthe vehicle, the vehicle may go out of the range in which the vehiclecan be operated by remote control, without the user's intension. In thiscase, the vehicle possibly exhibits behavior that is different from theuser's intension, but the user cannot accurately recognize the cause.This cannot be solved by the technique/technology disclosed theaforementioned patent document.

SUMMARY

In view of the aforementioned problems, it is therefore an object ofembodiments of the present invention to provide a parking supportapparatus configured to enable a user to recognize a range in which avehicle can be operated by remote control.

The above object of embodiments of the present invention can be achievedby a parking support apparatus is provided with: a receiver configuredto receive a signal associated with remote operation transmitted bywireless communication to a vehicle from a transmitter located outsidethe vehicle, and a vehicle controller configured to park the vehicle bycontrolling behavior of the vehicle in accordance with the signalassociated with the remote operation if a distance between thetransmitter and the vehicle is greater than or equal to a first distanceand is less than or equal to a second distance which is greater than thefirst distance, wherein said vehicle controller performs a predeterminedinforming operation for an operator of the transmitter, instead of or inaddition to controlling the behavior of the vehicle in accordance withthe signal associated with the remote operation, (i) if the distancebetween the transmitter and the vehicle is greater than or equal to thefirst distance and is less than or equal to a third distance, which isgreater than the first distance and is less than the second distance, or(ii) if the distance between the transmitter and the vehicle is greaterthan or equal to a fourth distance, which is greater than the thirddistance and is less than the second distance, and if the distancebetween the transmitter and the vehicle is less than or equal to thesecond distance.

In the parking support apparatus, the behavior of the vehicle iscontrolled by the vehicle controller it accordance with the signalassociated with the remote operation if the distance between thetransmitter and the vehicle is greater than or equal to the firstdistance and as less that or equal to the second distance. As a result,the vehicle is parked. Here, the “first distance” is set, for example,as a distance at which the vehicle moved by the remote operation is notin contact with the operator of the transmitter. On the other hand, the“second distance” is set, for example, as a maximum value of a distanceat which the operator of the transmitter can visually recognize safetyaround the vehicle, or the like. The distance between the transmitterand the vehicle may be obtained on the basis of, e.g., signal intensityof the signal associated with the remote operation received by thevehicle, or the like.

In the parking support apparatus, the predetermined informing operationis performed by the vehicle controller for the operator of thetransmitter, instead of or in addition to controlling the behavior ofthe vehicle in accordance with the signal associated with the remoteoperation, if the distance between the transmitter and the vehicle isgreater than or equal to the first distance and is less than or equal tothe third distance or if the distance between the transmitter and thevehicle is greater than or equal to the fourth distance and is less thanor equal to the second distance. The operator of the transmitterrecognizes a change in the vehicle caused by the predetermined informingoperation, by which the operator can recognize a distance range in whichthe vehicle can be operated by remote control (i.e. a range in which thedistance between the transmitter and the vehicle is greater than orequal to the first distance and is less than or equal to the seconddistance). According to the parking support apparatus, it is thereforepossible to make the operator of the transmitter recognize the distancerange in which the vehicle can be operated by remote control.

The informing operation performed instead of controlling the behavior ofthe vehicle in accordance with the signal associated with the remoteoperation may include, for example, decelerating the vehicle, or thelike. The informing operation performed in addition to controlling thebehavior of the vehicle in accordance with the signal associated withthe remote operation may include, for example blinking a hazard lamp,making an alarm sound, or the like.

Each of the “third distance” and the “fourth distance” may beappropriately set. If, however, there is a relatively large differencebetween the first distance and the third distance and/or a relativelarge difference between the fourth distance and the second distance,the operator may recognize the distance range in which the vehicle canbe operated by remote control, to be narrower than actual distance dueto the implementation of the predetermined informing operation. It istherefore desirable to pay attention to this paint to set each of the“third distance” and the “fourth distance”.

In one aspect of the parking support apparatus according to embodimentsof the present invention, said parking support apparatus comprises anobstacle detector configured to detect an obstacle around the vehicle,and said vehicle controller performs the predetermined informingoperation for the operator, instead of or in addition to controlling thebehavior of the vehicle in accordance with the signal associated withthe remote operation, if the distance between the transmitter and thevehicle is greater than or equal to the first distance and is less thanor equal to the third distance and if a position of the obstacledetected by said obstacle detector corresponds to a position of thetransmitter.

If the vehicle is operated by remote control fro the outside of thevehicle, the operator of the transmitter is highly likely detected asthe obstacle around the vehicle. If the operator is detected as theobstacle and then, for example, the vehicle is stopped, attractivenessas products is reduced.

Thus, in the parking support apparatus, the predetermined informingoperation is performed if the distance between the transmitter and thevehicle is greater than or equal to the first distance and is less thanor equal to the third distance (i.e. if the operator of the transmitteris relatively close to the vehicle) and if the position of the obstacledetected by the obstacle detector corresponds to the position of thetransmitter (i.e. if the operator is detected as the obstacle). In otherwords, if the obstacle is detected in a position relatively close to thevehicle, in theory, for example, the vehicle is stopped in order toavoid contact/collision between the vehicle and the obstacle; however,if the operator is detected as the obstacle, the predetermined informingoperation is performed.

By virtue of such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the stopof the vehicle caused by the fact that the operator is detected as theobstacle. Here, the operator can predict the behavior of the vehicle,which is operated by remote control by himself or herself, and it isthus considered that the operator does not come into contact/collisionwith the vehicle even in the aforementioned configuration.

The expression “the position of the obstacle detected corresponds to theposition of the transmitter” conceptually includes not only that theposition of the obstacle detected matches the position of thetransmitter, but also that the position of the obstacle detected and theposition of the transmitter are shifted to an extent that the operatorof the transmitter is practically considered to exist in the position ofthe obstacle detected

The nature, utility, and further features of this invention will be moreclearly apparent from the following detailed description with referenceto preferred embodiments of the invention when read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings briefly described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a vehicleaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating one example of an area in which parkingsupport control according to the embodiment can be performed;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating one example of a change in controlvehicle speed with respect to distance according to the parking supportcontrol in the embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an informing operation according tothe embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A parking support apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention will be explained with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4. Theembodiment below exemplifies a vehicle 1 equipped with a parking supportapparatus according to one specific example of embodiments of thepresent invention.

Configuration of Vehicle

A configuration of the vehicle 1 according to the embodiment will beexplained with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a block diagramillustrating the configuration of the vehicle 1 according to theembodiment. For convenience of explanation, two shift sensors 32 aredrawn in FIG. 1, but they are the same sensor.

In FIG. 1, the vehicle is provided with a parking support electroniccontrol unit (ECU) 11, an engine ECU 12, a brake ECU 13, a steering ECU14, a shift ECU 15, a human machine interface (HMI) output unit 16, acollation ECU 17, an engine 21, a brake actuator (or brake ACT) 22, asteering actuator (or steering ACT) 23, a shift actuator (or shift ACT)24, a vehicle wheel speed sensor 31, a shift sensor 32, a surroundingmonitoring sensor 33, an accelerator sensor 34, a master cylinderpressure (MC pressure) sensor 35. a steering sensor 36, and a receiver40.

The parking support ECU 11 is configured to receive via the receiver 40a signal associated with remote operation transmitted from a remoteterminal 2, which can be taken out from the vehicle by a user, such as adriver, and to control behavior of the vehicle 1, thereby performingparking support control, which is to park the vehicle 1. The “parkingsupport ECU 11” and the “remote terminal 2” are respectively one exampleof the “Vehicle controller” and the “transmitter” according toembodiments of the present invention.

In order to perform the parking support control, the parking support ECU11 has a surrounding environment recognizer 111, a route generator 112,a terminal-to-vehicle distance/direction determinator 113 (hereinafterreferred to as a “determinator 113” as occasion demands), a distanceboundary vicinity arithmetic processor 114 (hereinafter referred to asan “arithmetic processor 114” as occasion demands), and a vehiclecontroller 115, as processing blocks logically realized therein orprocessing circuits physically realized therein.

The vehicle controller 115 has therein a driving/braking controller1151, a steering controller 1152, a shift controller 1153, a HMIcontroller 1154, and ignition (IG) controller 1155.

The surrounding environment recognizer 111 is configured to detect aposition of an obstacle around the vehicle 1, a white line indicating aparking space, or the like, from the output of the surroundingmonitoring sensor 33, such as, for example, a camera, a sound wavesensor, a laser radar, an infrared sensor, and a global positioningsystem (GPS). The existing various aspects can be applied to a method ofdetecting the obstacle or the like, and an explanation of the detailswill be thus omitted.

The route generator 112 is configured to generate a driving route from acurrent position of the vehicle 1 to a position in which the vehicle 1is to be parked, on the basis of the output of the surroundingenvironment recogniser 111. The existing various aspects can be appliedto a method of generating the driving route, and an explanation of thedetails will be thus omitted.

The determinator 113 is configured to receive a signal from the remoteterminal 2 and to specify distance between the remote terminal 2 and thevehicle 1 and a direction of the remote terminal 2 viewed from thevehicle 1 on the basis of, e.g., intensity of the received signal or thelike. The existing various aspects can be applied to a method ofspecifying the distance between the remote terminal 2 and the vehicle 1and the direction of the remote terminal 2 viewed from the vehicle 1,and an explanation of the details will be thus omitted.

The driving/braking controller 1151 is configured to respectivelycontrol the engine 21 and the brake ACT 22 in cooperation with theengine ECU 12 and the brake ECU 13 in performing the parking supportcontrol. The steering controller 1152 is configured to control thesteering ACT 23 in cooperation with the steering ECU 14 in performingthe parking support control. The shift controller 1153 is configured tocontrol the shift ACT 24 in cooperation with the shift ECU 15 inperforming the parking support control. The HMI controller 1154 isconfigured to control the HMI controller 16 which is, for example, adisplay, a speaker, or the like, in performing the parking supportcontrol.

The IG controller 1155 is configured to authenticate the remote terminal2. If the authentication of the remote terminal 2 is succeeded, the IGcontroller 1155 is configured to output a signal indicating ignition-onor ignition-off to the collation ECU 17 in accordance with the signalassociated with the remote operation from the remote terminal 2. Theexisting various aspects can be applied to the authentication of theremote terminal 2, and an explanation of the details will be thusomitted.

Parking Support Control

The parking support control according to the embodiments has two modes,i.e. a mode in which the vehicle 1 travels along the driving routegenerated by the route generator 112 and a mode in which the vehicle 1goes straight forward or goes straight backward.

In the mode in which the vehicle 1 travels along the driving route, thevehicle 1 automatically travels along the driving route only when a notillustrated control button of the remote terminal 2 is ON. This mode isused mainly when the vehicle 1 enters a predetermined parking space andwhen the vehicle 1 leaves the parking space. In the mode in which thevehicle 1 goes straight forward or goes straight backward, the vehicle 1goes straight forward or goes straight backward only when the controlbutton of the remote terminal 2 is ON. This mode is used mainly when aparking position of the vehicle 1 is adjusted. The existing variousaspects can be applied to the modes, and an explanation of the detailswill be thus omitted.

Here, for example, from the viewpoint of ensuring safety in performingthe parking support control or the like, a range in which the parkingsupport control can be performed is set in advance. Specifically, onlywhen the remote terminal 2 (i.e. the user who operates the remoteterminal 2) is located in a range of an area B, the parking supportcontrol is performed on the basis of the signal associated with theremote operation from the remote terminal 2.

In FIG. 2, an area A is an area with a distance X1 from a side of thevehicle 1, wherein the “side” conceptually includes a front surface anda rear surface. The area B is an area with a distance X1 to X2 from theside of the vehicle 1. An area C is an area with a distance greater thanthe distance X2 from the side of the vehicle 1.

In FIG. 2, each of the distance X1 and the distance X2 varies between ina longitudinal direction of the vehicle and in a lateral direction ofthe vehicle. This is because the distance X1 and the distance X2 are setconsidering that a moving distance in the longitudinal direction of thevehicle 1 is greater than a moving distance in the lateral direction ofthe vehicle 1. Each of the distance X1 and the distance X2 may be set ata unique value in all directions.

The “distance X1” as one example of the “first distance” according toembodiments of the present invention may be set, for example, as adistance at which the moving vehicle 1 is not in contact with the userwho operates the remote terminal 2, in performing the parking supportcontrol 1. Specifically, for example, the distance X1 in thelongitudinal direction of the vehicle 1 may be set as a value that isgreater by a predetermined value than a stop distance associated with amoving speed of the vehicle 1 in performing the parking support control.Alternatively, the “distance X1” may be set as a distance at which anoperation for avoiding collision with the obstacle detected by thesurrounding environment recognizer 111 (or typically, braking) isperformed.

The “distance X2” as one example of the “second distance” according toembodiments of the present invention may be set, for example, as amaximum value of a distance at which the user who operates the remoteterminal 2 can visually recognize safety around the vehicle 1, or thelike. The distance X2 may be changed depending on, e.g., the number ofobstacles that exist around the vehicle 1. The distance X2 is less thana maximum distance in which the remote terminal 2 and the vehicle 1 (orthe receiver 40) can perform wireless communication.

The arithmetic pi processor 114 (refer to FIG. 1) is configured to setan area B1 in the vicinity of an inner boundary of the area B (i.e. aboundary between the area B and the area) and to set an area B2 in thevicinity of an outer boundary of the area B (i.e. a bound between the Band the area C).

Here, the user cannot visually recognize the area B. Thus, for example,if the remote terminal 2 moves from the area B to the area C due to themovement of the vehicle 1 or the movement of the user and the parkingsupport control is then stopped and the vehicle 1 is stopped, the userhardly recognizes the reason of the stop of the vehicle 1.

The arithmetic processor 114 is thus configured to perform an informingoperation for informing the user of being close to the boundary of thearea B if the remote terminal 2 is located in the area B1 or the areaB2. The “informing operation” according to the embodiment not onlyincludes an operation of giving some information to the user by usingaudio and images, but also conceptually includes an operation thatenables the user to notice a change in the vehicle 1, such as, forexample, a speed reduction of the vehicle 1.

The informing operation, however, is partially different from anoperation performed due to the movement of the remote terminal 2 fromthe area B to the area A or C (which is, in this case, an operation ofstopping the vehicle 1). The reason is as below. The informing operationis intended to inform the user of the fact that the remote terminal 2 isstill located in the area B but is particularly located in the area B1or B2 with a relatively high possibility that the remote terminal 2moves to the area A or C from the area B. If the operation performedwhen the remote terminal 2 moves to the area A or C from the area B isthe same as the operation performed when the remote terminal 2 islocated in the area B1 or B2, the user cannot recognize whether theremote terminal 2 is still located in the area B or is located in thearea A or C.

Specifically, for example, the arithmetic processor 114 is configured todecelerate the vehicle 1 by reducing an upper limit value of a controlvehicle speed associated with the parking support control (refer to FIG.3) or to blink a hazard lamp.when the remote terminal 2 is located inthe area B1 or the area B2.

In FIG. 3, a “distance X3” is one example of the “third distance”according to embodiments of the present invention, and is a value fordefining the width of the area B1. A “distance X4” is one example of the“fourth distance” according to embodiments of the present invention, andis a value for defining the width of the area B2. Each of the “distanceX3” and the “distance X4” may be appropriately set. If, however, thewidth of the area B1 or the width of the area B2 is relatively large,the user possibly recognizes the area B to be narrower than an actualwidth due to the implementation of the informing operation. Thus, eachof the “distance X3” and the “distance X4” is desirably set at a valuein which a period from entrance into the area B1 or the area B2 to exitfrom the area B1 or the area B2 caused by the movement of the vehicle 1is slightly longer than a period front the start of the informingoperation to the user's recognition of the informing operation, forexample, if the vehicle 1 moves while the user 4 who operates the remoteterminal 2 is standing.

Next, the informing operation according to the embodiment will beexplained with reference to a flow chart in FIG. 4.

In FIG. 4, after an application associated with the parking supportcontrol is started due to the operation of the remote terminal 2 (StepS101), the determinator 113 of the parking support ECU 11 receives,e.g., the signal from the remote terminal 2, and specify the distalbetween the remote terminal 2 and the vehicle 1 on the basis of theintensity of the received signal or the like (step S102). At this time,the determinator 113 also specifies the direction of the remote terminal2 viewed from the vehicle 1.

Next, the arithmetic processor 114 determines in which of the area A,the area B, and the area C the remote terminal 2 is located, on thebasis of the specified distance between the remote terminal and thevehicle 1 (step S103). In this determination, if it is determined thatthe remote terminal 2 is located in the area B (the step S103: In areaB), the arithmetic processor 114 determines in which area of the area Bthe remote terminal 2 is located, on the basis of the specified distancebetween the remote terminal 2 and the vehicle 1 (step S104).

In the determination in the step S104, if it is determined that theremote terminal 2 is located in the area B1 (the step S104: area B1),the arithmetic processor 114 determines whether or not the position ofthe obstacle detected by the surrounding environment recognizer 111matches the position of the remote terminal 2, which is based on thedistance between the remote terminal 2 and the vehicle 1 specified bythe determinator 113 and which is based on the direction of the remoteterminal 2 viewed from the vehicle 1 (step S105).

Here, the expression “the position of the obstacle matches the positionof the remote terminal 2” conceptually includes not only that theposition of the obstacle perfectly matches the position of the remoteterminal 2, but also that the position of the obstacle and the positionof the remote terminal 2 are shifted to an extent that the remoteterminal 2 is practically considered to exist in the position of theobstacle detected by the surrounding environment recognizer 111.

In the determination in the step S105. if it is determined that theposition of the obstacle matches the position of the remote terminal 2(the step S105: Yes), the arithmetic processor 114 transmits signalsindicating that the upper limit value of the control vehicle speedassociated with the parking support control is reduced (step S106) andthat, the hazard lamp etc. is blinked (step S109), to the vehiclecontroller 115. In the step S106, as illustrated in FIG. 3, as theremote terminal 2 and the vehicle 1 approach each other, the upper limitvalue of the control vehicle speed becomes lower. As a result, thevehicle controller 115 decelerates the vehicle 1 and blinks the hazardlamp etc (step S118).

If it is determined that the position of the obstacle in matches theposition of the remote terminal 2, the obstacle is the user who operatesthe remote terminal 2. The user operates the vehicle 1 by remotecontrol, and the user can thus easily avoid contact or collision withthe vehicle 1 by predicting the movement of the vehicle 1 or by stoppingthe vehicle 1. Thus, in the step S106, the vehicle 1 is not stopped eventhough the upper limit value of the control vehicle speed associatedwith the parking support control is reduced. By virtue of such aconfiguration, for example, it is possible to prevent that the vehicle 1is stopped without the user's intention every time the user approachesthe vehicle 1 to confirm in the parking position.

In the step S109, instead of or in addition to blinking the hazard lamp,the following may be adopted: for example, momentarily flashing aheadlight upward (so-called high beam), sounding a horn, changing avolume and a tone of an attention-drawing sound, such as a pseudo-enginesound, when the vehicle 1 is a hybrid vehicle and travels only with adriving motor in performing the parking support control or when thevehicle 1 is an electric vehicle, vibrating the remote terminal 2,changing screen display or blinking a screen of the remote terminal 2,and the like.

After the step S118, the parking support ECU 11 determines whether ornot a control end condition is satisfied (step S119). Here, the “controlend condition” includes, for example, receiving a signal indicating theend of the control from the remote terminal 2, not receiving any signalfrom the remote terminal 2 for a predetermined time after a change fromON to OFF of the control button, or the like,

In the determination in the step S119, if it is determined that thecontrol end condition is not satisfied (the step S119: No), the processafter the step S102 is performed again. On the other hand, if it isdetermined that the control end condition is satisfied (the step S119:Yes), the parking support ECU 11 ends the parking support control (stepS120).

In the determination in the step S105, if it is determined that theposition of the obstacle does not match the position of the remoteterminal 2 (the step S105: No), the arithmetic processor 114 transmits asignal indicating a countermeasure in detecting the obstacle (ortypically a signal indicating the stop of the vehicle 1) to the vehiclecontroller 115 (step S107). As a result, the vehicle controller 115controls the vehicle 1 in accordance with the signal indicating thecountermeasure in detecting the obstacle (step S118).

In the determination in the step S104, if it is determined that theremote terminal 2 is located in the area B2 (the step S104: area B2),the arithmetic processor 114 transmits signals indicating that the upperlimit value of the control vehicle speed associated with the parkingsupport control is reduced (step S108) and that the hazard lamp etc. isblinked (the step S109), to the vehicle controller 115. In the stepS108, as illustrated in FIG. 3, as the remote terminal 2 is separatedfurther from the vehicle 1, the upper limit, value of the controlvehicle speed becomes lower. As a result, the vehicle controller 115decelerates the vehicle 1 and blinks the hazard lamp etc (the stepS118).

In the determination in the step S104, if it is determined that theremote terminal 2 is located in a part of the area B other than the areaB1 and the area B2 (the step S104: ≠area B1 and ≠area B2), thearithmetic processor 114 maintains the upper limit value of the controlvehicle speed associated with the parking support control or returns theupper limit value to an initial value if the upper limit value ischanged in the step S106 or S108 (step S110), and turns off the hazardlamp or performs similar actions if the blinking of the hazard lamp etc.is performed in the step S109 (step S111).

Then, the arithmetic processor 114 determines whether or not the remoteterminal 2 was in the area A or the area C at a previous time (stepS112). In this determination, if it is determined that the remoteterminal 2 was not in the area A or the area C at the previous time (thestep S112: No), the arithmetic processor 114 transmits signalsindicating that the upper limit value of the control vehicle speedassociated with the parking support control is maintained and that thehazard lamp etc, is turned off, to the vehicle controller 115. As aresult, the vehicle controller 115 controls the vehicle 1 in accordancewith the transmitted signals.

On the other hand, in the determination in the step S112, if it isdetermined that the remote terminal 2 was in the area A or the area C atthe previous time (the step S112: Yes), the arithmetic processor 114transmits a signal indicating a buffer operation in area change, to thevehicle controller 115, in addition to the signals indicating that theupper limit value of the control vehicle speed associated with theparking support control is maintained and that the hazard lamp etc. isturned off (step S113). As a result, the vehicle controller 115 controlsthe vehicle 1 in accordance with the transmitted signals.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the control vehicle speed in the area A or thearea C is “0”; namely, the vehicle 1 is stopped. On the other hand, thecontrol vehicle speed in the part of the area B other than the area B1and the area B2 is, for example, a low speed. For example, if the userrelatively quickly moves from the area A to the part of the area B otherthan the area B1 and the area B2, it may not be determined that theremote terminal 2 is in the area B1. In this case, if the speed of thevehicle 1 is suddenly increased, the behavior of the vehicle 1 possiblybecomes unnatural. Therefore, in the embodiment, the buffer operation inthe area change, such as, for example, vehicle speed averaging, isperformed.

Back in FIG. 4, in the determination in the step S103, if it isdetermined that the remote terminal 2 is located in the area A or thearea C (the step S103: In area A or area C), the arithmetic processor114 sets the control vehicle speed associated with the parking supportcontrol to 0 km/h (step S114), and turns off the hazard lamp etc. if theblinking of the hazard lamp etc. is performed in the step S109 (stepS115).

Then, the arithmetic processor 114 determines whether or not the remoteterminal 2 was in the part of the area B other than the area B1 and thearea B2 at a previous time (step S116). In this determination, if it isdetermined that the remote terminal 2 was not in the part of the area Bother than the area B1 and the area B2 at the previous time (the stepS116: No), the arithmetic processor 114 transmits signals indicatingthat the control vehicle speed associated with the parking supportcontrol is set to 0 km/h and that the hazard lamp etc. is turned off, tothe vehicle controller 115. As a result, the vehicle controller 115controls the vehicle 1 in accordance with the transmitted signals.

On the other hand, in the determination in the step S116, if it isdetermined that the remote terminal 2 was in the part of the area Bother than the area B1 and the area B2 at the previous time (the stepS116: Yes), the arithmetic processor 114 transmits the signal indicatingthe buffer operation in area change, to the vehicle controller 115, inaddition to the signals indicating that the control vehicle speedassociated with the parking support control is set to 0 km/h and thatthe hazard lamp etc. is turned off (step S117). As a result, the vehiclecontroller 115 controls the vehicle 1 in accordance with the transmittedsignals.

Technical Effect

In the embodiment, if the remote terminal 2 is in the area B1 or thearea 132, i.e. if the user who operates the remote terminal 2 is in thevicinity of the boundary of the area B in which the parking supportcontrol can be performed, the informing operation such as, for example,decelerating the vehicle 1 and blinking the hazard lamp is performed.The user is notified of a change in the vehicle 1 caused by theinforming operation, by which it is possible to make the user recognizethe range of the area B. As a result, if the user takes an action ofstaying in the area B, it is possible to prevent that the vehicle 1 isstopped without the user's intention due to the fact that the userleaves the area B.

In the embodiment, if it is determined that the position of the obstacledetected by the surrounding environment recognizer 111 matches theposition of the remote terminal 2, the upper limit value of the controlvehicle speed associated with the parking support control is reduced,but the vehicle 1 is not stopped. It is thus possible to prevent thatthe vehicle 1 is stopped without the user's intention every time theuser approaches the vehicle 1, for example, to confirm the parkingposition.

MODIFIED EXAMPLE

If the upper limit value of the control vehicle speed associated withthe parking support control is set low to perform fine adjustment of theparking position of the vehicle 1, there is almost no room fordeceleration when the remote terminal 2 is in the area B1 or the areaB2. Even if the vehicle 1 is decelerated, the user who operates theremote terminal 2 highly likely does not notice the deceleration of thevehicle 1. In this case, the steps S106 and S108 may not be performed.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiments and examples are therefore to be considered in all respectsas illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A parking support apparatus comprising: areceiver configured to receive a signal associated with remote operationtransmitted by wireless communication to a vehicle from a transmitterlocated outside the vehicle; and a vehicle controller configured to parkthe vehicle by controlling behavior of the vehicle in accordance withthe signal associated with the remote operation if a distance betweenthe transmitter and the vehicle is greater than or equal to a firstdistance and is less than or equal to a second distance, which isgreater than the first distance, wherein said vehicle controllerperforms a predetermined informing operation for an operator of thetransmitter, instead of or in addition to controlling the behavior ofthe vehicle in accordance with the signal associated with the remoteoperation, (i) if the distance between the transmitter and the vehicleis greater than or equal to the first distance and is less than or equalto a third distance, which is greater than the first distance and isless than the second distance, or (ii) if the distance between thetransmitter and the vehicle is greater than or equal to a fourthdistance, which is greater than the third distance and is less than thesecond distance, and if the distance between the transmitter and thevehicle is less than or equal to the second distance.
 2. The parkingsupport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said parking supportapparatus comprises an obstacle detector configured to detect anobstacle around the vehicle, and said vehicle controller performs thepredetermined informing operation for the operator, instead of or inaddition to controlling the behavior of the vehicle in accordance withthe signal associated with the remote operation, if the distance betweenthe transmitter and the vehicle is greater than or equal to the firstdistance and is less than or equal to the third distance and if aposition of the obstacle detected by said obstacle detector correspondsto a position of the transmitter.